1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to trailer hitch guides for aligning the ball on a towing vehicle with the inverted ball socket on the trailer tongue and, more specifically, to such guides that allows a driver while backing up the towing vehicle towards the trailer, to automatically align the inverted ball socket disposed at a same height or slightly above the height of the ball.
2. Description of the Related Art
When towing a trailer with a towing vehicle, a driver will back up the trailer to the desired parking area and then disconnect the trailer from the ball mounted on the bumper or trailer hitch mounted on the towing vehicle. To disconnect the trailer's inverted ball socket from the ball, the trailer's tongue must be temporarily lifted either manually or with a jack to allow the ball to clear the lower edge of the ball socket. Once elevated, the towing vehicle is driven forward. The trailer tongue is then lowered and returned to the horizontal position.
When reconnecting the trailer to the towing vehicle, the towing vehicle is backed up to realign the ball with the ball socket on the trailer. Because the trailer tongue has been returned to the horizontal position when the trailer is parked, the trailer tongue must be lifted again to allow the ball to clear the bottom edge of the ball socket and align with the ball socket. If the trailer is relatively small, the trailer tongue can be moved side to side to align the ball socket with the ball. After the ball has been aligned with the socket, placing the ball directly under the socket, then the trailer tongue is lowered so the ball socket captures the ball.
Larger trailers are heavy and difficult to manually lift and move side to side. Usually, a driver estimates the location on the tongue ball socket and slowly backs up the towing vehicle to place the ball immediately in front of the ball socket. A jack mounted on the trailer tongue is used to lift the tongue and elevate the ball socket above the ball. The towing vehicle is then backed up to position the ball under the ball socket. The trailer tongue is then lowered so the ball socket captures the ball. If the driver is alone, he or she must repeatedly step out of the towing vehicle, review the relative locations and elevations of the trailer tongue, the ball socket, and the ball, and then return to the cab and reposition the towing vehicle. Sometimes, these tasks must be repeated several times which can be very time consuming and frustrating. While some towing vehicles have backup cameras that help the driver see the location of the ball and the ball socket, it is difficult to determine if the trailer tongue is sufficiently elevated to allow the ball to be aligned under the ball socket.
What is needed is an alignment system that enables a driver to back up the towing vehicle towards the trailer stored in the same height it was left with its ball socket substantially at the same height or at a height slightly above the ball that automatically aligns and lifts the trailer tongue and the ball socket over the ball as the towing vehicle is backing up and then and automatically drops the ball socket back to its original position and over the ball when it is properly aligned.